They wear blue and they move through the night, feared by many. But they do not exist to serve and protect as they tell us they do. The Memphis Police Department exist to control the populace. In their eyes all citizens are criminals. All are suspect and are treated accordingly. I’ve had too many experiences to ignore the evidence that exists. Now, before I go any further, let me say that I believe the officers of the MPD are probably typical of police forces all over the country. Because I’m a citizen of Memphis, this article will focus on the MPD but the problems with “our” police are typical of other cities. 

So, why am I picking on the Police? Because they deserve to be. The police are a standing army. They are armed to the teeth. They often abuse their power and do so in many ways. While they are paid by us and, in theory work for us as public servants, the truth is that they work to serve and protect only a small part of the population. The truth is accurately spray painted on the north side of the railroad overpass just north of Central Ave on Cooper street: “Police serve and protect the rich.” 

But the problem is that they don’t just serve and protect the rich, they wage war on the poor. The United States incarcerates more of it’s citizenry than any other “Western” society. In recent years we’ve seen the development of what many are calling a “prison industrial complex”. This is not a fabrication or a collective figment of imagination, it is a verifiable fact. The situation is this. Those that rule have worked very hard to crush the power of working people over the years. They have solidified their control of government even as the media have convinced us that it is pointless to act and that politics are better left to others, that our role is to consume. Thus citizens become consumers. As common folk have lost the power to control our lives we have also lost the economic leverage that comes with a powerful labor movement. Combine this with the resulting poverty, and the so-called “drug war” and what we have are cities at war with themselves. 

It is unclear just how aware the police themselves are of their social, political purpose in our society. But it is very clear that they behave towards the citizenry with increasing arrogance and a disregard for human rights. The cases of physical abuse abound and the violence towards citizens unjustifiable in almost every situation. The evidence is even to be found in their driving habits which often betray a belief that they are above the law that they exist supposedly to uphold. I myself can tell a story of being in the back of a patrol car that raced down Poplar Ave. at speeds greater than 75mph. I had no seatbelt on (the backseats do not even have seatbelts) and had the officer had an accident I fear the condition I would have been in. How many others have had their lives endangered in such a way while in the custody of the MPD? From where do the police derive the right for such endangerment? 

Another aspect of the current situation is the direct action activism that is developing in many cities. As working folk and students see themselves loosing power and the ability to have the “good life” they have increasingly reacted with mass protest. This is, of course, nothing new. History consists largely of the struggle between the owning or employing class and working people. It is an age old struggle that erupts throughout history. The eight hour day enjoyed by many working people is the result of intense labor organizing and massive street actions in the late 1800’s. The result is that those in power seek to increase the power of their defensive systems, this being the police. Increasingly the budgets of police departments skyrocket to better prepare for the probability of increasing social, economic conflict. 

Of course the police are just one part of “justice” system. Any discussion of the police and the role they play must at least touch on the growing prison system. Anyone that pays any attention to the goings on of Memphis has surely read or seen the recent news concerning the problems with the Memphis city jails. It’s not at all surprising that such gross human rights abuses are occurring in the “correctional” system. The fact is, these facilities are designed to continue with the dehumanization that the police begin when they arrest someone. The entire process is designed to instill fear and to remove the individual’s control of his/her life. All rights are forfeit and the body, practically speaking, becomes the temporary property of the state. The intent is not at all correction, but punishment. 

Amplifying the problem is the fact that prisons are increasingly privatised which means that they are managed by private corporations for profit. The equation includes primarily poor, black men that now work in the prison system increasing the profit of those running the prisons. The prison industrial complex is now big business. 

The citizens of Memphis, along with citizens everywhere, need to watch the so-called “protectors”. In many cities watch groups such as Cop Watch have been formed. For those that value freedom and human rights there is no choice but to reign in the power of the police and the industries the police serve. Of course this is just one aspect of the struggle for freedom. There’s plenty to do.